Wednesday, July 27, 2011

A number of right-wing commentators and bloggers immediately assumed that Islamic terrorists were responsible for the attack against a Labor Party camp in Norway. Instead, Anders Behring Breivik, described by authorities as a right-wing fundamentalist Christian, admitted to the mass murder. Among those who jumped on the false Muslim terrorist angle was anti-Islamist blogger Pamela Geller. It turns out that Breivik is an admirer of Geller and her allies:

In a manifesto posted online, the admitted killer, Anders Behring Breivik, praised Geller. He cited her blog, Atlas Shrugs, and the writings of her friends, allies, and collaborators—Robert Spencer, Jihad Watch, Islam Watch, and Front Page magazine—more than 250 times. And he echoed their tactics, tarring peaceful Muslims with the crimes of violent Muslims...

While anti-Islamic bloggers never advocated the mass murder of children, they certainly contributed to Breivik's violent views, stated one former C.I.A. officer:

Marc Sageman, a former C.I.A. officer and a consultant on terrorism, said it would be unfair to attribute Mr. Breivik’s violence to the writers who helped shape his world view. But at the same time, he said the counterjihad writers do argue that the fundamentalist Salafi branch of Islam “is the infrastructure from which Al Qaeda emerged. Well, they and their writings are the infrastructure from which Breivik emerged.”“This rhetoric,” he added, “is not cost-free.”

Think Progress has produced a chart of right-wing pundits and organizations cited in Breivik's anti-Muslim manifesto: